Travis Kelce just hit the 10,000 career yards milestone. Already among the immortals, the Chiefs’ indestructible legend might even be considered the greatest when his career is over.
It almost went unreported, but Kelce became the fifth tight end in history to streak for 10,000 yards. Tony Gonzalez (15,127 yards), Jason Witten (13,046 yards), Antonio Gates (11,841 yards) and Shannon Sharpe (10,060 yards) preceded him at that select club.
Most impressively, Kelce reached this historic milestone in his 140th game faster than anyone at his position in history. Gonzalez had done the same in his 177th game.
His predecessors cited all have one thing in common: a bust in the Hall of Fame. Five years after his retirement, not a minute more, Kelce will join them. The question at this point will be if he’s simply the greatest of all time, a strong possibility.
Alone in his class
There are some really good tight ends in the NFL right now, whether it’s George Kittle, Mark Andrews, TJ Hockenson, or a few others. However, none come close to Kelce.
On the production side, Kelce just passed the 1,000-yard mark for the seventh straight season. Ten receivers in front of him had managed the feat, but none at the tight end position.
Only Witten and another great, the one and only Rob Gronkowski, have had four straight seasons with at least 1,000 yards. It’s already phenomenal, but Kelce’s seven straight seasons takes it to another stratosphere.
Some would argue that major bottlenecks in history have not seen 16 or 17 game seasons like Kelce. It’s worth noting that the Chiefs’ big boy usually hits the 1,000-yard mark relatively early, including his 13th game this season.
Unkillable!
As far as durability goes, Kelce is phenomenal again. At 33, he hasn’t slowed down an iota. According to ESPN, the Eagles’ Pete Retzlaff was the last tight end to put on 1,000 yards at age 33 or older in 1965!
By this venerable age for the position, several great players had already retired.
Worst of all, he only played a few games in his 2013 rookie season before suffering a knee injury that required nasty surgery. He has only missed one game since then through injury or illness when he contracted COVID-19 last season. Otherwise, he was simply pre-emptively rested before the playoffs in unimportant finals.
This is also Kelce’s greatness, developing in a very physical position where contact is omnipresent.
The biggest?
It’s hard to predict where Kelce will be in the story. Tony Gonzalez’s 15,000 yard run is amazing. Rob Gronkowski’s style and blocking power remain inimitable. For now, they should be considered the two largest.
However, Kelce could get dangerously close to Gonzalez. His average yards per game (71.8) is also higher than Gonzalez’s (56).
As for Gronkowski, he is the only one who has dominated games in the current era as much as Kelce. He is also a more dominant blocker. However, injuries often kept him off the pitch.
There can always be debate as to Kelce’s place in history, but no doubt about its ultimate destination in Canton, Ohio.
5 things to watch out for
1. To the series
It’s only a matter of time, but the Chiefs will officially qualify for the playoffs today if they beat the Texans. The Cowboys can do the same if they beat the Jaguars. The Cowboys can qualify even if they lose, if the Lions or the Commanders lose.
2. War in the East
All teams in the Eastern Divisions of the American and National Conference have shown positive results so far. This is the first time two divisions have only fielded winning teams after 14 weeks. In 2014, at the same stage of the season, the four teams in the American Northern Division set winning records. It hasn’t been seen since then.
3. Another rookie quarterback
Desmond Ridder will make his quarterback debut for the Falcons against the Saints after a successful career at the University of Cincinnati. The third-round pick will be the sixth rookie center to start a game this season. It’s the seventh straight season that six or more rookie quarterbacks have started in at least one game.
4. Herbert on a mission
The Chargers find themselves in a tough spot again when they face off against the Titans. Quarterback Justin Herbert will still have a lot of pressure on his shoulders, but he’s used to big performances. Statistically, he could pull off an interesting feat of arms. With 294 yards, he would hit the 4,000-yard plateau for the third time in three NFL seasons. Nobody before him has managed the feat in his first three seasons.
5. Belichick vs. McDaniels
The Patriots-Raiders duel will be the first between Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels as head coaches since October 11, 2009. At the time, Belichick had just lost his fledgling offensive coordinator to the Broncos and the student surprised the champion when the Broncos won 20-17 in overtime. After that, everything went wrong for McDaniels, who then returned to the Patriots from 2012 to 2021.